A 63-year-old woman was led to safety by a neighbour from a burning house in Nuneaton.

Quick-thinking neighbour Simon Bratt came to the woman’s rescue after seeing smoke billowing out of an upstairs window of the council owned three-bed semi-detached home in Laburnum Grove, Camp Hill, yesterday.

“I heard the sound of a smoke detector going off and saw that the upstairs bedroom of the house opposite was on fire,” he said.

“I ran across and went through the unlocked front door and saw the woman sitting on the settee.

Fire hero Simon Brett outside the house where he came to the aid of a neighbour

“She did not seem to know what was happening. I just took her out into the street and phoned the emergency services.”

Mr Bratt, aged 44, who works at a food manufacturing plant in Coventry, said the woman lived alone in the three-bedroomed house and said he thought she was lucky to have escaped unharmed.

He added: “When I arrived, the smoke was beginning to come into the room and I reckon I got her out just in time, otherwise she would have been overcome.

“If she had been in one of the bedrooms she would have died – there’s no ifs and buts about that.”

Mr Bratt sounded the alarm at 9.15am yesterday.

Two fire crews, an ambulance and police were soon on the scene.

The householder, who is believed to have lived there for more than 30 years, was checked over by paramedics but fortunately did not need further treatment.

She stood on the pavement outside alongside concerned neighbours, as fire crews threw smouldering bedclothes out of an upstairs window.

The two front bedrooms of the house were extensively damaged by the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by an unextinguished cigarette.

* Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service say a working smoke alarm was probably the reason that the woman survived the fire at her home.

A statement from the service said that the fire started in an upstairs bedroom. The smoke alarm sounded which alerted the neighbour who rescued the resident from the ground floor after having called 999. The resident was not aware of the fire or the alarm.

The smoke alarms were only recently fitted. They were installed following a visit from a PCSO in November who noted that there were no working smoke alarms and alerted Warwickshire Fire and Rescue who fitted them.

Portfolio holder for community protection Coun Les Caborn said: “This resident probably owes her life to the visit by the PCSO who noticed that the property didn’t have a working smoke alarm and immediately contacted the fire and rescue service.

“Firefighters arranged to fit a smoke alarm as part of a free home fire safety check and this alerted the neighbour. Without that smoke alarm, the outcome could well have been tragic.

“As well as praising the actions of both the PCSO and the fire and rescue service, I should also like to give special mention to the neighbour who fetched the lady out of the house. It was an act of real community spirit and shows the difference it makes to communities when neighbours look out for each other.”

The smoke alarm was fitted as part of a free home fire safety check in which firefighters offer valuable guidance on staying safe in the home as well as fitting alarms.

Anybody who feels they may be at risk or have a vulnerable family member or friend who would benefit from this free service, can call the helpline on 01926 466282.